Asian Shares Mostly Decline as Tokyo Remains Closed for New Year

TOKYO (AP) — On Thursday, Asian shares largely decreased as Tokyo's primary stock market remained closed for the New Year holidays. This closure contributed to a sense of caution among investors, who are worried about potential policy changes under President Donald Trump, as well as the ongoing political uncertainty in South Korea.

In early trading, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 showed a slight increase of 0.4%, reaching 8,193.90. Conversely, South Korea's Kospi fell nearly 0.1% to 2,397.54. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index dropped 1.3% to 19,807.19, while the Shanghai Composite index lost 0.8%, closing at 3,325.56.

U.S. markets were closed on Wednesday in observance of New Year’s Day. Investors are anticipating an update on U.S. construction spending for November later on Thursday, and manufacturing data for December will be released on Friday.

The New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq are set to close their equity and options markets on January 9 to honor former President Jimmy Carter, who passed away recently at the age of 100. This is a part of a longstanding custom in Wall Street to pay respects to the nation's leaders.

On the last trading day of the previous year, U.S. stock indexes mostly closed lower, marking a subdued end to a record-setting year on Wall Street. The S&P 500 index declined by 0.4% after an earlier gain. Despite this drop, the index enjoyed a significant annual gain of 23.3% for 2024, marking its second consecutive year of over 20% growth. This type of performance has not been seen since 1998.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average edged down by 0.1%, and the Nasdaq composite saw a larger drop of 0.9%. Tech stocks were instrumental in this past year's market rally, leading to a Nasdaq increase of 28.6%. Meanwhile, the Dow, which is less influenced by technology stocks, posted a yearly rise of 12.9%.

For the closing numbers on December 31, the S&P 500 fell by 25.31 points to 5,881.63, the Dow decreased by 29.51 points to finish at 42,544.22, and the Nasdaq dropped by 175.99 points to close at 19,310.79.

U.S. market growth has been supported by a robust economy, strong consumer spending, and a solid jobs market. The rise in stock prices for firms within the artificial intelligence sector, like Nvidia and Super Micro Computer, has also bolstered market performance.

Following three interest rate cuts in 2024, the Federal Reserve is now expected to adopt a more conservative stance into 2025, especially as inflation continues to remain a concern during Trump's transition into office. Compounding worries are Trump's threats to increase tariffs on imported goods, raising fears that inflation might resurface as companies could pass on these costs to consumers.

In terms of energy trading, the price of benchmark U.S. crude rose by 36 cents, reaching $72.08 a barrel, while Brent crude, the global benchmark, gained 34 cents to $74.98 per barrel. Currency-wise, the U.S. dollar slightly declined to 157.28 Japanese yen from 157.24 yen, while the euro increased to $1.0373, up from $1.0361.

Asian, Stocks, Tokyo